Influence of semi-crystalline morphology on the electrical breakdown properties of sPP based materials

The influence of semi-crystalline morphology on the electrical breakdown strength of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) based materials is investigated. Different sPP samples (with varying molecular mass and syndiotacticity) and an sPP/ethylene random copolymer are studied. The semi-crystalline morphology of these materials was characterized using different techniques like WAXD, DSC and SEM. The crystalline morphology of the considered materials was varied by varying the processing conditions and by copolymerizing with ethylene. The crystallinity and the crystalline interphase content of the materials were then correlated with the electrical strength.